According to the US computer security firm, victims of the attack included the governments of Canada, India, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Vietnam.

The computers of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and a number of Australian ministers were also suspected of being hacked in March, with China under suspicion.

And in June, Google said a cyber spying campaign originating in China had targeted Gmail accounts of senior US officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists.

Chinese state media lambasted claims that China was behind the sophisticated hacking effort uncovered by McAfee, calling them "irresponsible".

According to the Chinese government report, they have been the victim of Trojan software attacks - a malicious program that masquerades as an application - the official Xinhua news agency said.

Nearly 15 per cent of the destructive programs came from IP addresses in the United States, while another 8 per cent originated in India, said the report by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Centre.